JUDGMENT

Sanjeev Kumar, J

1 The idiom “to have your cake and eat it too” completely fits in the controversy raised and the relief prayed for in this petition.

2. In this petition, the petitioners have, inter alia, prayed for the following reliefs:

(i) writ, order or direction in the nature of writ of certiorari to quash the seniority list of Munsiffs issued by the High Court vide order No. 728 dated 19.11.2011 wherein the petitioners have been shown at S. Nos. 31, 32, 33, & 34 instead of S. Nos. 16, 17, 18 & 26.

(ii) writ, order or direction in the nature of writ of mandamus commanding upon the respondents to fix the seniority of the petitioners on the basis of their inter se merit as depicted in Annexure A of Government order dated 24.09.2010 and accordingly show them at S. No. 16, 17, 18 and 26 respectively in the final seniority list of Munsiffs.

Factual matrix:

3. Vide communication No. LD(A)2007/79 dated 09.07.2008, the Department of Law referred 35 posts of Munsiffs, including 04 backlog vacancies in the Scheduled Tribe category, to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission ["the PSC"] for initiating the process of selection. Vide notification dated 24.10.2008 read with a notice dated 12.12.2008, the PSC notified the said vacancies of Munsiffs for selection. More than 1000 candidates, including the petitioners, responded to the Advertisement Notification and threw their candidature for selection. After conducting the selection process, the PSC recommended 35 candidates, including the petitioners, in the order of merit for medical examination by the respective Medical Boards at Jammu and Srinagar. All the 35 candidates were declared medically fit to assume the office of Munsiffs. On the basis of overall performance of candidates in the written test, viva voce and medical examination, the PSC, in terms of letter dated 24.09.2010, forwarded a list of 35 candidates which included the candidates selected under various reserved categories for appointment as Munsiffs. The list so forwarded by the PSC included the names of the petitioners at S. Nos. 16, 17, 18 in the open merit and S. No. 26 under RBA category respectively. Accepting the recommendations made by the PSC, the Government, vide Government order dated 05.10.2010, accorded approval to the selection of 35 candidates including the petitioners herein. Upon grant of approval to the selection and as recommended by the High Court, the Government, vide Government order dated 01.04.2011, accorded sanction to the officiating appointments of the selected candidates as Munsiffs in the Subordinate Judiciary of the then State of Jammu and Kashmir (now the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). The petitioners did not figure in the aforesaid list for the reason that there were only 31 vacant posts of Munsiffs available with the respondents. Subsequently, on more posts of Munsiffs becoming available due to promotions etc., the petitioners were also appointed as Munsiffs in terms of Government order dated 29.09.2011.

4 Vide order dated 19.11.2011, the High Court issued a seniority list of Munsiffs appointed vide Government order dated 01.04.2011 and 29.09.2011, in which the petitioners, who were appointed by subsequent order, were placed next to the Munsiffs appointed earlier vide Government order dated 01.04.2011.

5 Feeling aggrieved by the seniority position assigned, the petitioners moved a joint representation before the Registrar General of this Court which, upon consideration by the competent authority, came to be rejected. The decision of the Administrative Committee of the High Court rejecting the representation of the petitioners was conveyed to them individually. It is in these circumstances, and feeling dissatisfied by the response of the High Court to their representation, the petitioners are before us for ventilation of their grievance.

Contentions of the petitioners:

6 The petitioners assail the impugned seniority list primarily on the ground that, in view of their